The Power of the Altar

The Power of the Altar

Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel. – Genesis 33:20

The altar is a sacred place. It is a place of sacrifice, worship and communion between God and man. Mind you, the altar is not the exclusive preserve of those who worship God alone; those who serve idols and other forms of totems also have altars for their worship. That is to let you know how important the altar is.

While Abraham built the highest number of altars to God [read A Man of the Altar], Noah was the first person recorded in the Bible to build an altar where he sacrificed to God [Genesis 8:20]. However, we can strongly infer that the first altar was likely built by Adam, the first man, to maintain fellowship with God after the Fall. Why did we say Adam must have built the first altar, even though it was not specifically stated in the Bible? Because his sons, Cain and Abel, offered sacrifices to God at some point in their lives and in those days, the only place you offered a sacrifice to God was at the altar. So, while growing up, they must have seen their father doing that.

The fact that the practice of building an altar can be traced back to time immemorial, even if we were to stick to the first reference of Noah building one to the Lord, and it remains a common feature of devotion today, shows how essential it is. And in the next few episodes of this devotional, we shall explore some of the fundamentals of building and maintaining an altar that is acceptable to God and keeps its human custodian.

To be continued…

You Will Succeed in Jesus’ Name!

Also read:

• Men in the Bible: A Man of the Altar
• Beyond “I’m Fine” – Finding Honesty, Healing, and God’s Blessing
• The Origin of Jesus Christ – Whose Son was He?
• How God Creates: Creating by Extraction
• Friends Enrich Your Life
• I Felt Compelled to Find Out More

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